How to Play Yukon Solitaire – Rules & Strategy

What Is Yukon Solitaire?

Yukon Solitaire is the bold, free‑spirited cousin in the solitaire family. While it shares DNA with Klondike—building tableau piles in descending order with alternating colors—Yukon breaks the most fundamental rule of card movement: any visible card can be moved regardless of what’s on top of it, dragging along its entire stack like a mountaineer with a trailing rope team.

This single rule change creates a remarkably different strategic landscape. There’s no stock pile to cycle through when you’re stuck—just 52 cards, some face‑down, requiring careful excavation and planned relocations. The arrangement resembles FreeCell’s all‑cards‑in‑play tension, yet without the restrictive movement rules that make FreeCell so mathematically pure.

Yukon was likely born in mid‑20th century North America, named after the rugged Canadian territory where gold rushes once drew bold risk‑takers. Like its namesake, the game rewards those willing to make bold moves and carefully calculated gambles. Its defining characteristic—the freedom to grab any visible card—perfectly captures that frontier spirit of possibility mixed with the consequences of hasty decisions.

Objective of Yukon Solitaire

Transfer all 52 cards to the four foundation piles, building up from Ace to King by suit.

Sounds simple, but the journey is where all the intrigue lies. You’ll need to strategically relocate stacks, expose face‑down cards, and navigate the constraints of alternating colors—all without the safety net of a stock pile to draw from when you’re stuck.

Complete Rules for Yukon Solitaire

Setup

• Deal seven columns of tableau cards:

  • Column 1: 1 card (face‑up)
  • Column 2: 6 cards (1 face‑up, 5 face‑down)
  • Column 3: 7 cards (2 face‑up, 5 face‑down)
  • Column 4: 8 cards (3 face‑up, 5 face‑down)
  • Column 5: 9 cards (4 face‑up, 5 face‑down)
  • Column 6: 10 cards (5 face‑up, 5 face‑down)
  • Column 7: 11 cards (6 face‑up, 5 face‑down)

• No stock pile — all 52 cards are dealt to the tableau from the start.

• Four empty foundation piles await in the upper right for building by suit.

Card Movement Rules

In the Tableau:

• Build tableau columns in descending rank with alternating colors (red 9 on black 10, black 2 on red 3).

• Key Rule: Any visible card can be moved regardless of what sits on top of it. When moved, it takes all cards above it along, even if they’re not in sequence.

• Example: in a pile showing ♠7, ♥3, ♦9, ♠4, you can select the ♥3 and move all three cards above it (♥3, ♦9, ♠4) as a unit onto an appropriate tableau card like a ♠4 onto a ♥5.

• Empty Column: Only a King (or a King‑headed stack) can be placed in an empty tableau column.

Foundation Building

• Build foundations upward from Ace to King by suit.

• You can move cards from the tableau to the foundations, or back from foundations to the tableau if needed (though this typically costs points).

Uncovering Cards

• When you move a card and expose a face‑down card beneath it, the face‑down card automatically turns face‑up.

• No card can be moved unless there’s a legal place for it in the tableau or foundations.

Winning Conditions

• Win by transferring all 52 cards to the four foundation piles.

• Lose when no more legal moves are possible and cards remain in the tableau.

Scoring System

Yukon rewards strategic play while allowing flexibility for creative solutions.

Move Points

• Tableau → Foundation: +10 points
• Tableau → Tableau: +2 points
• Foundation → Tableau: –15 points (penalty for backtracking)
• Turning over a face‑down card: +5 points

Time Bonus

• Formula: 800,000 ÷ completion time in seconds
• Example: Finish in 4 minutes (240 seconds) = 3,333 bonus points
• No time bonus for games under 30 seconds (anti‑cheat measure)

Tip: A balanced approach often yields the highest scores. Lightning‑fast players can earn massive time bonuses but might lose points on excessive moves; deliberate players make fewer moves but sacrifice time bonus potential.

Winning Strategy Tips for Yukon Solitaire

1. Expose Face‑Down Cards Early

Every face‑down card is an unknown resource. Prioritize moves that reveal these hidden assets, even if it means temporarily disrupting a promising sequence. A newly revealed card might be exactly what you need to unlock a stubborn section of the tableau.

2. Move Aces to Foundations Quickly

Unlike some solitaire variants where holding Aces in the tableau can be strategic, in Yukon, moving Aces to foundations early creates immediate foundation building opportunities and reduces tableau congestion. Each Ace relocated means one fewer card blocking your path to victory.

3. Create Empty Columns Strategically

An empty column is immensely valuable. It offers flexibility for temporarily parking awkward stacks while you reorganize other columns. However, remember that only Kings can move into empty spaces—plan ahead to ensure you can utilize the vacancy effectively.

4. Think Multiple Moves Ahead

Because any visible card can be moved regardless of what’s above it, Yukon requires thinking several steps beyond your immediate move. Before relocating a card with a large stack above it, visualize how the tableau will look afterward. Will this create better opportunities, or simply exchange one problem for another?

5. Balance Tableau Management with Foundation Building

While exposing face‑down cards is crucial, don’t neglect opportunities to build upward on the foundations. Each card moved to a foundation is one fewer card cluttering the tableau. However, be cautious about moving higher‑value cards too early—sometimes an 8 or 9 is more useful in the tableau than in its foundation.

6. Use the “Stepping Stone” Technique

Sometimes a card is useful for temporarily holding a stack before moving it elsewhere. For example, if you want to move a red 7 but have no black 8 exposed, you might first move a different stack to expose a black 8, use it to hold the red 7 stack, then continue with your original plan. This “stepping stone” approach is unique to Yukon’s movement rules.

7. Recognize When to Backtrack

Despite the 15‑point penalty, sometimes moving a card from a foundation back to the tableau is necessary. If this move will unlock multiple face‑down cards or create an essential sequence, the long‑term gain often outweighs the immediate point loss.

8. Maintain Color Balance

Try to keep a balanced distribution of red and black cards in your tableau to maximize movement options. If too many cards of the same color are accessible, you’ll have fewer legal moves available.

Advanced Tactics

Card Counting and Distribution

With experience, you’ll develop an intuitive sense of the card distribution in each deal. There are 26 red cards and 26 black cards in the deck, spread across four suits. Mentally tracking how many of each color and key ranks (especially Kings) have appeared helps inform strategic decisions.

The “Deep Dive” Approach

Sometimes, deliberately dismantling a seemingly well‑ordered column to access a crucial face‑down card is the key to victory. This “deep dive” might create short‑term chaos but can unlock the critical cards needed to solve the entire puzzle. Novice players often avoid disrupting visible order, while experts recognize when controlled chaos is necessary.

The King Relocation Problem

Kings can only move to empty columns, making them both valuable and potentially problematic. If a King is buried deep in a column with many cards above it, consider creating a pathway to extract it even at the cost of several moves. A King in the wrong position can bottleneck your entire game.

Strategic Scenarios

Probabilities and Win Rates

Yukon Solitaire is more winnable than many people assume. Here’s what the statistics show:

• Overall win rate (perfect play): Approximately 70–75% of Yukon deals are theoretically winnable.

• Human win rates:

  • Beginners: 15–25%
  • Intermediate: 30–40%
  • Expert: 50–60%

• Average moves in winning game: 160–220 moves

• Average completion time (skilled player): 5–8 minutes

Common Mistakes and Fixes

1. Focusing only on visible sequences
   Fix: Always check for opportunities to expose face‑down cards, even if it means breaking a promising visible sequence.

2. Moving Kings too early
   Fix: Before moving a King, ensure it won’t block access to crucial cards below it; Kings have limited mobility.

3. Building foundations too aggressively
   Fix: Keep mid‑value cards (especially 7–10) in the tableau until you’re confident they won’t be needed to support tableau movements.

4. Avoiding complex stack moves
   Fix: Embrace Yukon’s unique mechanic—moving any visible card with all cards above it. This is often the key to unlocking difficult positions.

5. Ignoring column balance
   Fix: Try to maintain roughly equal numbers of cards in each column; heavily imbalanced columns create troublesome bottlenecks.

Historical Context and Trivia

• Origin: Yukon likely emerged in the mid‑20th century, though exact origins are unclear. Its name evokes the rugged Yukon Territory of Canada, suggesting a frontier spirit.

• Digital Revival: The game gained significant popularity when included in digital solitaire collections in the 1990s.

• Family Tree: Yukon belongs to the “Klondike family” of solitaire games, sharing characteristics with Klondike, Russian Solitaire, and Alaska (all named after gold rush locations).

• Mathematical Interest: Its unique movement rule makes Yukon an interesting subject for computational analysis, with ongoing research into optimal solving algorithms.

• Yukon vs. Alaska: A close variant called “Alaska” exists where the color‑alternation rule is removed, allowing any lower card to be placed on any higher card regardless of color.

Frequently Asked Questions

How does the “any visible card can move” rule work in practice?

This rule means you can grab any card you can see, regardless of how many cards might be sitting on top of it, and move it (along with all cards above it) to a legal destination. For example, if column 1 shows ♠K, ♦5, ♥9, ♣2 (from bottom to top), you could move the ♦5 and everything above it (♦5, ♥9, ♣2) as a unit.

Are there any restrictions on moving cards in Yukon?

Yes. While you can move any visible card, you must still follow the descending alternating color rule for tableau building. You can only place a card (and its stack) on a card that is one rank higher and of the opposite color. Also, only Kings can be placed in empty columns.

How do I improve my win rate in Yukon?

The key to winning more consistently lies in effective tableau management. Focus on exposing face‑down cards early, creating at least one empty column for flexibility, and always considering multiple moves ahead. With experience, you’ll develop an intuition for when to build foundations versus when to focus on tableau rearrangement.

Can I move cards back from the foundations to the tableau?

Yes, Yukon allows moving cards from foundations back to the tableau. However, this typically incurs a 15‑point penalty. Use this option sparingly and only when it enables critical strategic advantages.

What’s the difference between Yukon and Russian Solitaire?

They share almost identical rules, with one key difference: In Russian Solitaire, you can only move a card (and cards above it) if they form a properly sequenced stack of alternating colors. Yukon allows moving any visible card regardless of the sequence of cards above it.

Is Yukon more like Klondike or FreeCell?

Yukon sits between the two in both mechanics and difficulty. Like Klondike, it uses alternating colors for tableau building. Like FreeCell, all cards are in play from the beginning with no stock pile. Its unique movement rule gives it a distinct strategic flavor that veteran solitaire players find refreshingly different.

Master Moves: Expert Tips

• When deciding between multiple possible moves, choose the one that exposes a face‑down card in the rightmost column, as these typically block the most options.

• In early game, focus on creating long, alternating sequences rather than moving single cards to foundations. Build a solid tableau infrastructure before accelerating foundation transfers.

• Keep track of “orphaned” cards—those that have no logical home in the current tableau. These often indicate where you need to direct your strategic efforts.

• Sometimes accepting a temporarily messy tableau is necessary to create the perfect conditions for a major reorganization. Embrace controlled chaos when it serves a strategic purpose.

• The most powerful moves often involve extracting a valuable card (like a King or Ace) that’s buried beneath several other cards, even if this requires multiple intermediary steps.

Ready to test your strategic thinking?
▶ Play Yukon Solitaire now and discover why this bold variation has captivated solitaire enthusiasts for decades!